Door hanger



Jan 6, 1931. L. A. BITTORF ET m. I 1,787,468

DOOR HANGER Filed May 7, 1928 Patented Jan. 6, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LOUIS A. BITTORF AND GEORGE G. BEHRENS, OF STERLING, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR-S TO NATIONAL. MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF STERLING, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS Application filed May 7, 1928.

Our invention relates to hangers for doors and has for one of its ob ects the provlson of an improved hinged hanger which permitsthe door to swing 1n one direction about its suspension-support to prevent breakage of the door or hanger, or both, in case force is applied to the door as by an object striking the same in its movement through the doorway.

Another object is to provide a hinging hanger which includes a trolley structure for freely sliding the door along a suspension trackway, and which also includes a pivotal connector between the trolley and door which permits ready movement of the trolley along a straight, curved or other irregularly shaped trackway.

-A further object is to provide a hanger of the foregoing character in which the hinging relation does not in any way impair the strength and durability of the hanger as a whole and which is adapted to provide a solid connection between the door and trolley in the normal vertical or suspended position of the door so as to resist force applied in a direction opposite that'in which it hinges.

Additional objects are to increase the efiiciency of the hanger as a whole; to provide structural simplicity and ease in installation; and to provide cheapness of construction with economy in manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent as this description progresses and by reference to the drawing wherein,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a hanger embodyin my invention and shown applied to a so-called sliding door;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partially in section, of the structure of Fig. 1, showing the hanger in full lines in its normal door-vertical or door-suspending position, and in dotted lines in a hinging position with the door swing outwardly as a result of force being applied thereto; and

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken substantially on line 33 of Fig. 1.

We will describe our invention as applied to a door 10 which is of a size adapted to cover one-half or the entire doorway, but it is to be understood that it pay be equally,

noon HANGER Serial No. 275,592.

well applied to, and will serve its intended purpose equally as well when applied to a door of a type comprising a plurality of sections hinged together and movably supported from the top by hangers embodying our invention and which are applied to one or acre of such sections.

A traekway 11 which receives and guidingly supports the door trolley 12 is mounted along the doorway in such a manner that door 10 may be moved back and forth therealong as will become obvious as this description continues. The trolley is comprised of four wheels 12 rotatably mounted upon a carriage part 12 which pivotally receives the headed connector pin or bolt 13 which supports the door 10 and permits relative turning movement betwen the trolley and door.

An L-shaped bracket 14 is secured to the top part of the door by bolts 15 and nuts 15 with its horizontal leg 14? seated upon the top edge of the door. This horizontal leg is provided with two upwardly extending and spaced cars 16, 16', preferably, but not necessarily, struck therefrom so as to be integral therewith. These ears are slightly off-center, being so located as to be slightly to the rear of the central vertical plane of the door 10 and bracket 14:.

The door bracket 14 is hingedly connected to the pin 13 by an inverted U-shaped hinge member 17, the legs 17 of which are hingedly mounted upon the bracket ears 16 by hinge pins 18, 18, which pass through aligned opening in such legs and ears. The upper or horizontal top part 17 of this member is provided with a slot 19 (Fig. 3) which is adapted to adjustably receive the free and threaded end of the connector pin 13. This pin is secured to the member 17 by nuts 20 and 21 located above and below the U-base 1'7 thereof, respectively, the nut 21 serving as an adjusting nut while the other nut serves to lock the parts in their adjusted position in a manner which will be well understood. The pin 13 is provided with opposed fiat sides 13 adapted to receive a wrench to permit of vertical adjustmer t of the door without detachment of parts away'slightlytoward' the rear as.'at" 17 or the bottom edges may be extended slightly at the rear, to provide leg projections 22-" which are adapted to seat upon the rear top part of the bracket 14 when the door is in its normal suspended or; verticalpos-t' flaw-M The hinge pins18, 18 areso located that the hinge islslightly to the rear of the central plane'of the door and the axis of the connector pin 13, and; this relation between the hinge and the parts mentioned is accomplished, in. part, and maintained by ad usting the end of the connector pin 13 forwardly in the slot- 19 in the top 17 f the a hinge member.

The same size bracket- 14; may be used with doors of different thick ness, thereby changing the hinge relation shownin Fig. 2to some extent. The lateraladjustment slot 19enables adjustment of the hinge member 17 and, in turn, the hinge to provide and maintain the desirable oil-center: relation of the hinge uponsuch variation in door thickness.

From the'foregoing, it will be obviousthat when force is applied totheside-Ajofthedoor 10, as by theimpact of some object such as part of a vehicle inits movement to or from a. garage, the door will yield or: move about the hanger-.7 hinge to-or; toward;

the dotted line position of Fi 2; Whenthis force is, removed, thedoorwill, swing back to thefull-lineposition of- Fig. 2, the

movement of the'door about the hinge in,thislatter direction being stopped by theprojecting legs 22of the U-shaped-hingemember l7 engaging the top :le'i ofv the L-shapeddoon bracket. In the normal suspended or vertical position, of the door (Fig; 2)[the connection between the door and-the connect;- ing'pin. 13 is a. rigid one inthe same man.-. nor as if the bracket. 14: and, pin 13 were a.

solid part without any intervening hinge.

This relation ismaintained, except whena.

sufiicient counter force is'applied toside A of the door, by locating the hingerearward ly. of the vertical center plane of; the door which permits the weight of the door'to at all times tend to swing itrearwardly and hold the leg projections 22 and brackettop- 14 in solid'engagement; I

Ourhanger may beapplied to a door mounted to move either along the outside or along the inside wall of the building which may be a garage, barn, etc, The side A of the door, whether it is mounted inside or outside the building, will be next to the adjacent wall surface of the building in its open position and this will support the door in case of impacts applied to sideB thereof. Thesi ze, and weight of'the, do'orsmay vary and-itheivsi-Ze and number: of: hangers employed. may be varied accordingly. F urthermore, it is tobe understoodthat while.

we have shownonly onejform' of our, inven tion, changes in details and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of our invention as defined by v the claims which follow.

We claim:

he, ombin ion with a oor a d a supportingxtrackway, of a door-hanger including ajwheeledscarriage adapted to move along uponsaidtrackway, a depending connecton pivotally carriedby said; carriage, a

bracket securedto said door, a member car.-

ried byv said depending connector, and a; hmge connection-between said bracket and; member, said member llmitlng the movement ofsaidghinge toone direction only from normal position by applying. a force thereagainst ini a substantially vertical direction.

2. The combination with a door and a sup porting trackway, of a. door hanger which comprises a wheeled-trolley carriage, a depending member pivotally carried by said carriage, an inverted L-shaped bracket securedtosaid door-with its horizontalfiange extending acrossthe topedge of the door,

upstanding-spaced hinge members carried by the horizontal flange of saidbracket, an

inverted U-shaped hinge element carried by said; depending member, means for hingedly connecting the legsofsaid U-shaped element and said hinge members together at a-point rearwardly of the'vertical ax'isor said connecting member and; the vertical central plane of said. wheeled; carriage so that the weight of said-door will-always tendito swing said, door rea-rwardly when unrestrained,

and said U-element legs being shaped to oppose said; rearward door; movement by exerting a downwardlyapplied force to the upper edgeofjsaid' door.

3. In a door hanger adapted? to be suspended froma-trackway, a wheeled-carriage adapted to move alongisaid trackway, .a connecting member: centrally and pivotally' carried by saidcarriage, a bracketadapted to be carried by and. extend above and over the top edge of thedoor, hinge elements carried bysaijdjbracketat a point above the door and rearwardly; of the central vertical plane thereof, a hinge member adjust-ably carried by-sardconnectmgmember and having hinge T elements located rearwardly of the-point of connection between saidtwo members, said I latter hinge elements being uni-directional, and'means for connecting said first andsee ond named hingeielements together to-form I tending stop-legs, means for adjustably securing said connector member to the forward part of said hinge member, and means for hingedly securing said hinge member, at the rear thereof, to said hinge elements, whereby the hinge between said connector and bracket is to the rear of the vertical center of said connector and carriage and permits forward hinging movement of said door bracket and said leg-stops prevent rearward hinging movement of said bracket and effect a solid connection between said bracket and connector member in the normal suspended position of the door.

5. In a door hanger, a supporting memher, a connector element carried centrally by said supporting member, a door bracket,

, and a uni-directional hinge between said bracket and connector element comprising spaced hinge elements carried by said bracket, an inverted U-shaped hinge member having a slot in its horizontal web part, the depending flanges of said hinge member having their forward edges tapered downwardly and inwardly and their rear edges straight and downwardly extended to form extended legs, means for hingedly connecting said depending fianges near the rear edges thereof to said hinge elements, the tapered edges of said flanges permitting forward hinging r of said bracket and said le s revent hin ing of said bracketrearwardly from its nor mal vertical position, and means for adjustably securing said connector element in said hinge member slot at the forward part thereof so that said hinge is located rearwardly of the central vertical plane of said connector element and supporting member and so that the weight of the door adapted to be attached to said bracket will always swing the door rearwardly about said hinge, when unrestrained, to a normal vertical position where said hinge member legs seat solidly 1 upon said bracket.

6. In a door hanger, a support, a connector member dependingly carried by said support, a bracket adapted to be secured to the door, another bracket carried by said connector member, and a hinge between said two brackets and offset rearwardly of the a central vertical plane of said support and connector member, said last-named bracket being formed to engage said first bracket in a substantially vertical direction to render said hinge uni-directional.

7. In a door hanger, a support, a connector member dependingly carried by said support, a bracket adapted to be secured to the door, another bracket vertically and laterally adjustable, means for connecting said latter bracket and said connector member, and a hinge between said two brackets and offset rearwardly of the central vertical plane of said support and connector member, said last-named bracket being provided with downwardly extending stop elements limiting the hinging movement of the door in one direction only from its normally suspended or vertical position.

8. The combination with a door and a supporting trackway, of a door hanger ineluding a wheeled carriage adapted to move along upon said trackway, a connector carried by said carriage and having a depending threaded end, a bracket secured to said door, a member carried by said depending connector, means associated with the threaded end of said connector and said member for adjusting said member vertically and laterally, and a hinge connection between said bracket and member, said member being wardly tapering forward edges, straight I rear edges extended to form downwardly projecting stop-legs, means for securing said connector member to said hinge member, and means for hingedly securing said hinge member, to said hinge elements, said last named means being located rearwardly of the vertical axis of said carriage and said connector and also rearwardly of a vertical line passing through the center of gravity of said door, whereby inward movement of said door is limited by engagement of said sto -legs therewith.

n testimony whereof, we have subscribed 

